Changing hands

H

hubris

New member
On the 26th I stepped off the roof onto a ladder that fell. Went down about 12 ft and tried to break my fall with left, dominant, hand. Broke/shattered ulna and radius. Surgery is the 3rd.
Anyone with similar experience on use of my wrist to shoot? I only shoot 45 and 9mm with std loads...no +P.
 
Sorry that happened to you, as it also happened to me about a dozen years ago, except I was right handed and broke my right near the wrist.
So, congratulations, you are now right handed, like it or not, at least temporarily. This is an excellent opportunity to learn to shoot one-handed with what used to be the wrong hand. You will most likely come out of this with a greater degree of ambidexterity than you ever had before. There might even be some tasks that you will become right-handed for and never go back on when you could. I assume you will be in a cast and for a while you should do nothing at all with that hand. In my experience, at 8 weeks I was ready and eager to get out of the cast. It didn't hurt anymore and I was doing a lot of things with my fingers and able to use that hand again for some time. But when I got the cast off, I then had a range of mobility that was previously restricted by the cast; and that much extra mobility hurt like hell for a while. I had to protect my arm all over again for a few weeks, and it would occasionally hurt for a year. My only handgun at the time was a 45 Colt Vaquero, which I learned to shoot left-handed. I was probably shooting it with my right hand and left-hand support within a couple of months of coming out of the cast....but not with hot loads!
Do you smoke? If so, quit now; you will heal faster, better and more completely. Smoking interferes with the healing of broken bones.
It's really a drag that this happened to you, but it's also an opportunity, and it could have been worse. I hope you heal quickly and make a full recovery.
To everyone else that reads this, I will say right now; Ladders are dangerous!
But you, of course, already know that now. Get well and remember that Springtime is coming.
 
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I broke my dominant left wrist. I shot with my right hand for quite awhile. Glock 19 was my gun of choice. I learned to shoot it quite decently. I didn't switch eyes. I could align with a slight movement of the gun. I learned one handed reloads and malfunction drills.

As far as long term - physical therapy and it came back to normal and I can use it for everything and lift weights without a problem. I do have a loss of a few degrees of mobility and it gets stiff at time. The docs said it will be more prone to arthritis.

Good luck and get better. As far as ladders, I have given them up. I just had an electrician over to do some repairs that I would have done before. My knees now have a tendency to give out, so I'll pay the youth to do it.

Sorry for the TMI, but personal hygiene involved a switch in hands and that was in pain in the ...
 
That's a good idea. After I did all the phys. therapy and strength exercises, I started right off with the 9. That might have stupid.

I do recall when the cast came off and I will my wrist to bend, it just stayed there. Oops. Got to love the squeezy putty balls.
 
I pretty much got the same time frame for casts from the doc. Kind of bummed on the additional recovery time. The hip replacement was much quicker, but didn't involve immobility....actually with the hip I took my first walk 45 min. after waking up.


Trying wrong hand, same eye sounds like a good way to go. Thanks.


I did catch h--- from wife, both daughters, doc in a box, and the surgeon's PA. Women just don't get it about men, ladders. and power tools.
 
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